RAC implement InVision WFM for roadside patrols

Part of RAC’s commitment to members is to provide own branded patrols at the roadside as much as possible. Reducing the need to use local garages also reduces subcontracting costs. RAC Rescue employs around 2,500 people, providing roadside assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and the shift patterns worked by RAC employees are extremely flexible. In return for this flexibility, RAC guarantees to roster its employees according to a comprehensive set of rules and fairness guidelines, which go significantly beyond legal requirements such as the EU Working Time Directive. To further enhance employee work/life balance, RAC allocates core hours for a complete year, three months in advance.

The challenge faced by the rostering team at RAC Rescue is to generate employee rosters that provide optimal coverage of staffing requirements while also respecting all the rules and fairness guidelines. Moreover, this process previously required significant manual effort and RAC wished to automate the process as much as possible. Following a rigorous evaluation programme, in September 2006 RAC selected Enterprise WFM from InVision. Evaluation included a detailed proof-of-concept exercise, which confirmed InVision’s ability to automatically generate rule-compliant rosters which also represent an improvement in service coverage equivalent to a seven-figure annual saving. From January 2007, the tool is being used to create rosters for RAC Rescue’s entire patrol force and further rollout is planned to nearly 2,000 further colleagues.